Seven working tools
Buying a home in the Treasure Valley involves a sequence of decisions that arrive on their own schedule — a pre-approval before you shop, an earnest money deposit within days of an accepted offer, a five-day inspection period once you are under contract, and a closing date that follows thirty to forty-five days later on most financed purchases. This kit puts a working tool in your hands for each of those moments, in the order they come.
Every tool is yours in full. Nothing here is held back, and nothing is shortened to prompt a meeting. Print the ones you need, write in them, and keep them.
A suggestion on where to start: Tool 2, the Inspection-Period Response Worksheet. The inspection period is the five days that decide more Treasure Valley purchases than any other stretch of the contract, and the buyers who come through it well are the ones who decided what mattered to them before the clock started. Tool 2 helps you do that. It is also the one tool built to be completed with someone across the table, and the offer to do that is inside it.
CORRECTING THE RECORD
Conventional programs commonly start at 3% down, FHA at 3.5%, and VA at 0% for eligible buyers. Less than 20% down is normal for first-time buyers; PMI is a monthly cost, not a disqualifier.
The kit arrives as two PDFs — the seven tools and a one-page companion. Both are yours in full, and both are on the next screen the moment you send this.
Figures in this kit are planning ranges for typical Treasure Valley transactions, not quotes. Your lender's Loan Estimate — the standardized document you receive after applying — carries your actual figures; your title company's settlement statement carries the final ones.
Two fields and how you found us. No phone number required.
Both PDFs are on the next screen immediately, and a copy goes to the address you gave.
Print the ones you need, write in them, and keep them. Nothing is held back and nothing is shortened to prompt a meeting.
Reply to the email the kit arrived in, or call (208) 214-5595.
Two-hour response SLA — you hear back within two hours during business hours.
Earnest money commonly runs around 1% of the purchase price in the Treasure Valley; buyers in competitive offers often offer more. It is a good-faith deposit that shows the seller you intend to close — deposited within the days your contract names, held by the title company, and credited toward your purchase at closing. Whether it is refundable if you walk away depends on the contingencies written into your offer: terminate inside the inspection period, or under a financing or appraisal contingency you kept, and it comes back to you; default outside those and it is at risk. The amount and the contingencies are decided together, which is why the Offer Strategy Matrix in the Home Buyer's Kit treats them as one decision.
Plan for four buckets rather than one figure. The down payment depends on your loan program: conventional programs commonly start at 3% down, FHA at 3.5%, and VA at 0% for eligible buyers. Closing costs typically run 2%–5% of the purchase price for Treasure Valley buyers — smaller homes trend toward the higher percentage, and discount points add to it. Earnest money, commonly around 1% of the price, is paid within days of an accepted offer and credited back at closing. And lenders typically like to see 1–2 months of housing expenses in reserve after closing. The total varies widely by price and program, which is why the kit's Closing-Cost Worksheet builds it line by line and your lender's Loan Estimate replaces the estimate with actual figures.
No. Conventional programs commonly start at 3% down, FHA at 3.5%, and VA at 0% for eligible buyers. Less than 20% down is normal for first-time buyers; PMI is a monthly cost, not a disqualifier. Twenty percent down on a conventional loan avoids private mortgage insurance, and that real fact has hardened into a rule it was never meant to be. A smaller down payment changes the arithmetic — a larger loan, a larger payment, a mortgage-insurance line until your equity reaches the threshold where it can be removed — not your eligibility. The honest comparison is buying now at the down payment you have against waiting the time it takes to reach 20% while paying rent; your lender can run both in minutes.
Buyer agent compensation is negotiated and outlined in the Buyer Representation Agreement. In many transactions the seller agrees to cover the buyer agent's commission. Ask your MHC agent for details specific to your situation. The Buyer Representation Agreement is the written agreement you sign before touring homes with an agent; it defines what the agent does for you, the term, and how compensation works, including what happens when a seller does not offer to cover it. Read it before you sign, and ask about any term that is unclear — a clear agreement at the start is what makes the representation worth having.
If you would rather just ask
We keep a two-hour response SLA during business hours.